Silent Light
by Aiko Yamazaki
Summary: A mysterious village was said to be formed in the middle of the legendary Moon Country, homeland to the onis. Rumours were spreading about it being a safe sanctuary to onis and outcasts And the leader to the main attack force is none other than a young girl who was abondoned by her very own father and village. FemNaru
1. To Be Truly Accepted

_Summary: A mysterious village was rumoured to be formed in the middle of the legendary Moon Country, homeland to the onis. Rumours were spreading about it being a safe sanctuary to onis and outcasts And the leader to the main attack force is none other than a young girl who was abondoned by her very own father and village._

Hi, this is my first story on fanfiction and I hope that everyone will give some ideas and/or comments about this. This story was actually based of Starian Nightzz's Lost Twilight(it's really awesome!) I know that the first few chapters seems really similar to her story but it will be really different to hers in the other chapters. Anyway, the first chapter is really like hers because I'm not sure how to write it.(If I get an idea, then I will redo it)

Since it is actually Starian Nightzz's idea, so credits goes to her.

* * *

Chapter 1- To be truly accepted

_Jinchuurikis..._

_People that have tailed beasts sealed in them. They exhibit extraordinary powers due to the immense chakra reserves they possess._

_The Jinchuurikis are typically lonely people, viewed by those around them as the tailed beasts that had been sealed within them, leading to prejudice and being hated and feared. Even going as far as making some of them loathe humanity._

_Little did they know, several sealing rituals can have the ability to change their lives as they can allow a Jinchuuriki to become an oni, and not just any oni, but a pure blooded oni, by battling their inner demon in their inner world..._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

In the dim shadows of the night, one can see a figure of someone running while holding something in his arms. Making sure there was no one in pursuit, he stopped underneath a tree to rest before checking on the young girl in his arms.

Kazama Chikage always prided himself on his self-control over his now, he grew restless as he examined the young girl before him, with each examination more cuts and bruises were revealed.

As a pure-blooded oni and the head of the strongest ruling oni clan of the West, he is almost akin to royalty in the oni race. Not to mention that he is also the one that first established Shinrakuen, a few years or so ago with his friends - Shiranui Kyo and Amagiri Kyuju after assisting to a war that was started by the humans belonging to the land across the sea due to the fact that the oni clans owed them a debt.

Kazama didn't like the idea of assisting humans in a senseless war, but his oni pride had made him do so as onis keep their promises to prevent them from defiling their honour and pride.

Tsuki no kuni was a country that was the only country in the Elemental Nations that had always been untouched by malice or hatred. The other oni clans kept a strict watch on their homeland to make sure that no one - human or otherwise will get in without them realising. Although, most people avoided that place like the plague anyway so there wasn't much to worry about.

The first thing that the trio realised upon returning to Tsuki no kuni was the existence of humans that has tailed beasts sealed in them, otherwise know as Jinchuurikis. Usually, they wouldn't bother interfering in matters like these, but when they realized that Jinchuurikis were getting abused,mistreated and shunned by the humans of their very own village, they weren't exactly happy.

Thus, Kazama made it his duty to check on every Jinchuuriki and their state. If they are happy with their lives, then he will stay out of their business. If they aren't, then he will bring them back to his village with him, no matter what their village leader says.

That was the reason why one can see Kazama all the way in Hi no kuni where he had heard that there was a Jinchuuriki in Konohagakure, while Shiranui had went to Kaze no kuni to check up on another.

He had the luck to find a young girl that looked about seven years old running away from the village of Konoha, just as he was about to leave Konoha , due to the fact that he couldn't find the Jinchuuriki, only to find out that she was the very person that he was looking for.

Apparently, there was a attack by a bijuu in the village around seven years ago and he heard some rumours on the way to Konoha about the Yondaime Hokage's wife sealing the Kyuubi and reducing it's state to a little girl.

All onis can choose to have the appearance of a human, as they hardly show their oni forms unless it's an emergency or they have no other choice. Thus, it was easy to get some information from the civilains without drawing suspicion to himself.

From what he heard from the rumours and the information he have gotten from the civilians, he was smart enough to piece the story himself.

The Kyuubi - the greatest spiritual demon's Jinchuuriki, is the very daughter of the Yondaime Hokage himself, and his wife had died sealing the fox into her daughter. And like almost every single village,the village didn't have the brains to tell the difference between the demon and their container apart. That's why, the poor girl have received the same treatment as the other Jinchuurikis, such as: insults, beatings, mistreatment, starvation and even attempted assassination.

When he found out that that she was the Yondaime Hokage's daughter, he wondered why did she still received such mistreatment if her father is the Hokage himself?

He found out his answer when he remembered something that the owner of the ramen store he had visited earlier today to get some information regarding the girl. It turned out that the girl frequently visits the stall for her meal since other shops refuse service to her and that her name was Namikaze Naruto, he almost rolled his eyes at the ridiculous name. For god's sake, it means 'swirly fishcake'! Couldn't he give her a more feminine name like after a flower or something?

He found out that the ramen stand owner was named Ichiraku Teuchi and his daughter Ayame. It seemed like they were both quite fond of the girl and were quite willing to give him some information regarding her. He found out that after his wife died, the Yondaime Hokage was so upset that he spent all his time doing his work and hardly payed attention to his own daughter. It was the Sandaime Hokage and Hatake Kakashi who had taken care of the girl for almost her whole life. After the girl's fifth birthday, they had gradually stopped taking care of her since they thought that now that she was a little older, the Yondaime can take care of her now and wanted the two to spent some time alone.

The answer to his previous question was that the girl simply looked too much like her mother. She looked like an exact replica of her mother, only with slightly different eyes as her eyes was a dark shade of violet. That was why the Yondaime all but abandoned his daughter as she reminded him too much of her mother. From the way he acts around her, one would think that they were total strangers!

The ramen store's owners was furious at this and had refused service to almost the majority of Konoha, making it hard to maintain business.

Kazama wasn't happy after knowing about what the girl had to go through, and had immediately headed straight to the Namikaza compound after making sure no one had seen him. There were seals and barriers all around the compound to ensure that no intruder will enter, but the seals and barriers were made to prevent humans to getting in, so it meant nothing for an oni, and thus he was able to enter the mansion with little-to-none difficulty.

However, he couldn't find the girl anywhere and could only detect a faint presence of her and assumed that she was prehaps not in the village and was about to return to Tsuki no kuni when he saw her running away from Konoha.

Kazama didn't even bother asking the girl for her permission, he just scooped the girl up and her oversized jacket and ran from the village's direction. No one would probably even notice that she was gone until the end of the week anyway.

And this is how Kazama Chikage finds himself under a tree near the border of Hi no kuni with a shocked and frightened Namikaze Naruto in front of him after he explained everything to her.

Strangely, the girl had calmed down - despite her situation once Kazama had tried to be as gentle to her as possible and explained everything to her. When he first saw the girl running away, he immediately took note of the tearstains on her face and the bruises and welts on her arms. It took quite a lot of convincing though, for her to allow him to even touch her or to check her injuries, and when he was finally allowed, he resisted the urge to return to the village and slaughter everyone of them as he uncovered all of her injuries.

Her father was the leader of that pathetic village and he allowed THIS?

It took every bit of his self-control to resist the urge to burn the entire village to the ground and make sure that all the people that did this to her suffer slowly and painfully. The blond haired oni knew that his wife would probably be just as,if not, more angry than him.

Chizuru had always adored kids, and all the previous Jinchuurikis that he had saved, was always sent to her to be calmed down before being put through the ritual to rid themselves of their demons and to be turned into an oni.

"K-K-Kazama-san?" the girl, Naruto asked timidly, flinching slightly and averting her eyes when she saw the furious expression on his face. Knowing that he had clearly frightened her, he fought hard to keep his temper in check and to prevent his oni side from taking over.

"I...apologise." Kazama apologised. "I'm just...upset that someone could do something like that to a child."

"...They said that I'm a monster not a human...And my father didn't say anything otherwise so I guess it's true..." the girl whispered, blinking away tears.

Now that, really made Kazama furious. In the olden days, Jinchuurikis are made to create the oni race, a purer and much more superior race of humans. They were definitely NOT monsters in any way.

"Don't ever call yourself that, child," said Kazama angrily, doing his best to keep his temper in check. He didn't expect that the villages were actually cruel enough to make a young child believe that they are monsters. Nor did he expect a father would be heartless enough to abandon his child to the villagers' harsh words. "You are not a monster. The true monsters are those heartless people that mistreated you from that pathetic village you were from."

"...How...How do you know that I'm not a monster...not the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked softly.

"Because I know many others who are just like you." answered Kazama, causing the girl's expression to brighten considerably at that answer.

"You mean there are many others like me?" Naruto asked, clearly excited.

Kazama smiled at her and nodded. "Yes, there are indeed others like you. Nearly everyone in my village is just like you and me. We are what other people call onis. We become an oni by battling with our inner demon and winning against them. Those that aren't like us are either abandoned by their people or are outcasts in their villages. My village was created for people like that - people that aren't excepted by others. I have never understand why humans hurt each other so much and I probably never will. That's the reason why I built my village." Kazama said, smiling gently at Naruto.

"There are others just like me in your village? And you have your own village?" Naruto asked, tripping over her own words in her excitement, causing Kazama to look rather amused.

"Correct," Kazama said nodding. "I'm not sure if you heard of my village, but most people in the elemental nations does. Shinrakuen no sato which is located in Tsuki no kuni, the homeland of the onis. We are the only country untouched by hatred or malice."

Naruto's eyes widened in amazement. Kazama was now sure that she must have heard of the village before. She _is _the daughter of the Hokage, no matter what happened, so she must have at least heard about the village before.

"You'll find many friends that will like you there in Tsukigakure, Namikaze Naruto," said Kazama gently. "My wife would love to have you, and I know I do already. And so will all my friends and family in there, just like how they have always accepted another person unwanted by their own village in the past. You are a Jinchuuriki, and you shall be an oni, just like me. And like how I have promised all the others whom I have brought to my village, I will promise you the same thing now: I shall give you a better life in my village. Would you like to follow me?"

Naruto's eyes widened in shock, before she smiled in a sad manner. "My father didn't want me. Nobody wanted me," she whispered. "No one will miss me even if I leave Konoha, the only place that I had ever knew. Maybe…even my mother didn't want me. I had never even seen a photo of her, as my father had ordered all photos of her destroyed. Only Teuchi-san and Kakashi-nii are willing to tell me stories about her, but even they do not have pictures of her."

"I'm sure that your mother had wanted you," said Kazama with a shake of his head. "The Kyuubi, the king of the spiritual demons sealed currently in you is proof of her love for you." Naruto's eyes widened as she placed one hand over her abdomen. "Would you want to come with me?"

Naruto nodded in a seemingly shy manner. "If you would be willing to have me."

Kazama nodded. "Of course. In Shinrakuen, the oni village, we have a rather old tradition there: start a new life, a new identity. Those that were abandoned, like you, cast away their old identities and their past selves, therefore becoming a new person. Some chose to keep their old names, but most took on a new name. Would you like to start as a new person? Not as Namikaze Naruto of Konohagakure, but as a new member of Shinrakuen, our newest oni member, and a member of our family."

Naruto heisatated before nodding cautiously "Starting a new life and idenity sounds like a good idea," she whispered softly. "When I'm finally old enough, I will show... I will show Konoha and the Hokage what they have discarded! I won't hate them as it is what they actually wanted. Nor will I try to harm them in any manner as it is what they've done to me! I will become an oni, a superior race to humans!

Kazama smiled softly at Naruto. "Very well. I shall give you your new name, Namikaze Naruto," he said, stopping for a moment to think for a suitable name. "Yukimura Aiko." The newly named Aiko stared at him curiously. "Like the snow, may your will be pure and unwavering, unbroken and able to stand through all times.

"...Yukimura...Aiko..." The newly named Aiko muttered and found out that it sounded far better than her old name. She smiled before saying "I really like this name!"

She looked up at Kazama before slowly accepting his hand that he offered.

This person understood her. This man is different from everyone; just like her. He tried to help her. He gave her a new name that she could call her own. He wanted to _help _her.

He truly _accepted _her.

And Yukimura Aiko knew that she'd go to Hell and back for this man if he so wishes it. She swore it on this night.

* * *

_A/N: So? What did you think? I know this story is not really my idea, but I was wondering what did you think about it. Any help or suggestions? This story won't really be following the canon plot so keep that in mind. It also will be different from Lost Twilight after the first few chapters._

_Also, I would like to give a big thanks for everyone that helped me the most on fanfiction or inspiring me to start writing. _

_Starian Nightzz __for her amazingness and help for this story.(Check out her other stories)_

_a-whisper-to-a-riot __for always helping me with stuff and letting me help her with her stories._

_DreamingHopelessly __for cheering me up with her positiveness._

_DaniZaraki __for making such funny fanfictions that never fails to make me laugh._

_And last but not least, __BloodyMarryMe __for inspiring me to start writing stories._

_I thank all of you that helped me. Keep it up with your own fics too! :D_


	2. Visitors from Konoha

_**Warnings: **AU. OC characters. Character bashing. Konoha bashing. Mild dark fic._

_**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto and any of the characters, but some of the OCs belongs to me. The beginning of the plot and the characters Kirigakure Yuuki and Saitou Rihan belongs to Starian NightZz though. And a few of the other OCs belongs to my friends._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 2- Visitors from Konoha

Shinrakuen, which is located in the middle of Tsuki no kuni, unlike what most people say, is a truly beautiful place.

Like in the rest of Tsuki no kuni, there are plenty of plants and flowers everywhere there. Tsuki no kuni is also rather famous for it's medical plants, rare flowers, medic arts and even mining minerals. However, unlike the rest of the elemental nations, Tsuki no kuni doesn't have a daimyo. Instead, the four ruling oni clans of the East, West, South and North rules the nation itself. But those four clans tend to give their nation's people pretty much free reign unless an urgent matter calls for their intervention.

Although the other oni clans also rule the nation, they tend to leave most of their decisions to Kazama Chikage as he is the head of Shinrakuen, as well as being the head of the ruling oni clan of the west. Therefore, all the decisions about the nation falls to him unless there is a matter that he couldn't decide on his own. And seeing as how his wife happens to be the last member of the ruling oni clan of the east, the majority of the oni clans and the people that resided in Tsuki no kuni trusted and liked Kazama as well as Shinrakuen.

Shinrakuen is actually a rather large village, and also pretty much well guarded, for obvious reasons. Although most humans purposely try to avoid Tsuki no kuni if they could help it, it doesn't mean that humans won't enter Moon Country. That's why when Shinrakuen was getting built, the people there decided to construct outposts at every single entrance of the village, though the seals and barriers made by the onis on the village itself prevents any human from entering unless they have permission from Kazama himself.

The village of Shinrakuen is actually quite large; being actually larger than any of the shinobi villages in existence, even the five great nations. The houses of the people in the village were mostly built in the style of the old traditional Japanese style houses, as the people and onis of Tsuki no kuni liked to keep their old traditions. There were even several waterfalls in the village, and a semi-large river filled with sparkling clear beautiful water ran from one end of the village to the other end, separating the raining grounds located near the end of the village. There was even a large meadow at the back of the village near the river, where sweet smelling flowers grew there, as well as a beautiful view of the river filled clear water, and it is a favourite place for dates for couples, especially for the head of the village and his wife.

While Shinrakuen isn't exactly an official ninja village, they do indeed function like one, taking on requests from their people from all around Tsuki no kuni. And as such, they do have a building like that of the kage towers in the various shinobi nations. It was a pure white tower; easily the tallest building in the entire village, and it was located near the town square of the village. The Missions' Office was located there, as is the Administrative Office, as well as their head's office. A pure black symbol of that of a crescent moon with a single star was visible near the top of the tower the very symbol for Tsuki no kuni itself.

And right now in that very village, one can see the village head's wife waiting for husband in their clan's compound.

Kazama nee Yukimura Chizuru is a beautiful woman with brunette hair falling down to mid-back, with a pale pink ribbon tying her hair halfway down, and chocolate brown eyes. Like nearly all onis, she doesn't look much older than twenty or so, and she is wearing a light pink yukata with a dark purple outer covering over it.

As she is the wife of their village head, everyone loves and adore her, and knew her as a gentle and kind-hearted woman who is very fond of the children of the village who are mostly abandoned children whom Kazama had brought back to the village. And she also happens to be the one of the best healer in the village, and always made it a point to play with the children of the village if given time from her duties.

Chizuru absently smothered the coverings of the bed in the room that Kazama had always used for the Jinchuurikis that have just undergone the ritual to rid themselves of their demons and to turn them into onis. It will usually take them a full day or so for the ritual to be completed, and two days for them to completely recover, and to get used to the heightened senses and changes that they will experience when becoming an oni.

The ritual that Kazama had been performing that night with the assistance of Shiranui Kyo and Saitou Hajime is on the young redheaded girl that her husband had found in the village of Konoha nearly five days ago. She was clearly mistreated and abused both physically and emotionally by her village, as she seems kind of mistrusting of just about everyone, and it even took Chizuru; who was known for her calming effect on children some time before the newly named Aiko will take to her. Though it made Chizuru glad to see that Aiko had made a friend in the form of a young redheaded boy that Amagiri brought back from Sunagakure as he is also a Jinchuuriki and Saitou Hajime's eight-year-old son named Rihan who is quite mature for his age.

A lot of things have happened ever since the war that all of them have fought in the lands across the sea. She, Kazama, Amagiri, Shiranui Kyo and Saitou Hajime. Like most of the Shinsengumi who had taken it upon themselves to protect her when she was searching for her adoptive father, Saitou had taken the Ochimizu a special medicine designed to give a human the strength of an oni temporarily at the cost of their lifespan. Chizuru was so upset over the fact that Saitou had taken Ochimizu to protect her that it wasn't even funny.

And shortly after that, the war was over with nearly all the Shinsengumi being eliminated. Although Kazama had originally been an enemy of the Shinsengumi, and had tried kidnapping her several times, he had also saved her several times from enemy soldiers. And sometime down the road with him, she had slowly fallen for him

The man did saved her from danger many times, after all. It only seems natural that Chizuru had fell for him. Senhime, Chizuru's best friend who had been the head of the oni ruling clan of the north had laughed at her when she had heard about it, but had happily congratulated Chizuru for it, and had even been her bridesmaid during her wedding.

When Kazama had asked Chizuru to go with him when it came time for them to return to their homeland, Chizuru had accepted. And surprisingly, Saitou who is one of the few survivors of the Shinsengumi had decided come along as well. Apparently, Amagiri had taken a liking to Saitou despite all their clashes together, and had managed to convince Kazama to perform the ritual to complete Saitou's transformation into a true oni so as to not shorten his lifespan any further.

Since then, Saitou had been one of Kazama's most trusted warriors. He had even settled down well in Tsuki, and have found a wife of his own who had been the daughter of one of the people whom Kazama had saved. Sadly for him, she had passed away when their son was only three years old when she had headed to one of the neighbouring nations to get some items that she couldn't be able to get in Tsuki. Saitou had never really gotten over her death, and engrossed himself in his work, as well as raising his own son who is almost a splitting image of himself, only with crimson red eyes.

Chizuru jerked up, clearly startled when, a familiar presence entered her senses, and she soon relaxed when she realised that it's her husband's, with another presence with him seeming akin of a pureblood oni child which made Chizuru smiled. Seems like the ritual was a sucess.

Kazama soon quietly entered the room, carrying the redheaded child in his arms, with her being fast asleep, and dressed in a crimson yukata that Chizuru had made for her after discarding those rags that those heartless people in Konoha had even dared to call clothes

Kazama managed a small smile at Chizuru before smothering his face back into its usual emotionless mask before he placed Aiko gently onto the bed and covering her with the blanket. The girl mumbled something in her sleep before turning over and gripping the blanket tightly in her grasp, while curling herself up in a tight ball.

"I take it that the ritual was a success then?" Chizuru asked quietly as they exited out of the room quietly, and walked down the hallway that leads to their bedroom.

"Of course," said Kazama. "Since when has it failed before? Those children that are Jinchuurikis tend to be very strong willed. It is much more difficult for her though, as the demon that she carries is the king of the spiritual demons himself. It has really worn her out." He then smirked as they reached their room, and entered it, closing the door behind them. "Poor Saitou is pretty worn out though. Because Amagiri isn't back yet from Taki with the Jinchuuriki, Saitou has to take Amagiri's usual place for maintaining the seal that keeps Aiko in her self-consciousness to battle the Kyuubi. It took Aiko an extra two hours; even longer than any other Jinchuurikis that we have attempted the ritual for so far. He had literally collapsed by the end of it that Amagiri has to carry him home. I'm betting that Gaara and Rihan will be pretty concerned, since from what you told me, they seems to be best friends already."

"It'll be good for Gaara-kun to keep his mind occupied though," said Chizuru with a sigh. "He is still not quite trusting of other people in the village."

"Shiranui told me something interesting the other day," said Kazama with a knowing smirk as he look at his wife.

"What was it about?" Chizuru questioned curiously.

"He said that he felt Gaara's connection to Aiko. Think about it; Aiko is practically scared of everyone, even me when I've just taken her from Konoha. But Gaara…she wasn't scared of him or distrust him. In fact, she became good friends with him when Gaara just arrived here a few days ago, while paying you a visit. Their friendship…strong and sincere. And you know that once we onis had our eye on someone, it is only on that one person alone."

Chizuru sighed. "Yeah. You did that to me too," she mumbled, and Kazama smirked. "I wonder what their relationship will be like in the future..." she mused thoughtfully.

"I guess we'll just have to wait to find out." was his reply.

**XXXXX**

_Five Years Later_

_Konohagakure_ _no Sato_

Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, is a very troubled man.

Being The Yellow Flash of Konoha, he had surpassed all records for becoming the youngest Hokage yet, and is most likely the most powerful one in the history of Konoha, since his enemies couldn't even hope to land a blow to him due to his technique. He had already been the Hokage for almost thirteen years now, and while most people would have killed to be in his position, right now, Minato would have killed to be in _their _position.

Namikaze Minato sighed as he mentally listed the problems that he is currently stuck with.

First, Orochimaru had deserted the village a while after Minato had become Hokage after being caught red-handed by Sarutobi for performing sick and inhumane experiments on _children_. The twisted snake had managed to escape, though Minato had suspected that Sarutobi had most likely hesitated at the last moment, and had allowed Orochimaru to escape. He_ was _the Sandaime Hokage's favourite former student after all.

Second, his ex-instructor, Jiraiya of the Sannin had flown into a rage five years ago when he had found out that he had neglected his own daughter even when the villagers took it too far when they abused her. And when she had disappeared five years ago, the same thing happened to Jiraiya who had walked right out of the village despite his last remaining teammate's desperate pleas, and had never returned after that. And that has placed Konoha into quite a mess, as Jiraiya is Konoha's best and only spymaster, and without him, Konoha's intel on their enemies' movements has gone down by at least seventy percent.

Minato sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he looked sadly at the photo frame on his desk that is a two panelled type photo frame. The photo on the left side was that of himself and Kushina when she was about six months pregnant, with both of them standing outside Ichiraku's ramen stand smiling happily at the camera. And speaking of that ramen stand, after his daughter and Jiraiya have vanished, the ramen stand owner and his daughter vanished too. As the two of them were civilians, he doesn't have any authority to keep them in the village, and Teuchi had also long stopped serving him when he had started neglecting his own daughter.

The second photo was of a candid shot taken of his daughter when she was about three years old, being carried by Kakashi, with the Sandaime Hokage walking alongside them both, all three of them smiling.

Minato let out yet another sigh as he looked at the photos. Truth be told, he never intended to neglect his daughter this badly. It's just that every time he looked at Naruto, he saw Kushina's looks in her. She is almost an exact copy of his wife, save for her eyes. And when the villagers started abusing her, he actually turned a blind eye to it! The look of pure betrayal on Naruto's face made him feel almost like a knife had buried itself deep into his heart.

But he couldn't help it.

Every time that he just looked at Naruto, he not only saw his wife, he also saw the Kyuubi that had taken his wife away, and he can't help but hate Naruto for it. He felt that if Naruto wasn't born, then _that_ man would have never even went Konoha to attack Kushina for the Kyuubi. If Naruto wasn't born, Kushina wouldn't have died.

Sarutobi was clearly disappointed in him when he had said that this was the reason when the old man had questioned him as to why he had neglected his daughter so much that she actually has to go to either him, Kakashi or the ramen stand owners for all her meals, and why he had turned a blind eye whenever the villagers started had mistreated her.

Speaking of Kakashi...Even his last remaining student had lost whatever respect he had for him when he had found out about Naruto's treatment in Konoha. The only reason why Kakashi was still a ninja of the Leaf instead of Kakashi mimicking Jiraiya and walking out of Konoha is the fact that Obito had given his life up for Konoha, and Rin who had all but disappeared after the Kyuubi's attack.

Also, the clans of Konoha were getting far too rebellious for his liking, particularly the shinobi clans like the Nara, Aburame and Inuzuka clans – the three clan heads who have liked kids, and whose kids were good friends of his daughter. After they have found out the reason behind Naruto's disappearance, the three clan heads had acted viciously towards him, and for good reason too.

Even Tsunade is disgusted with him, but it is only because of Shizune and Sarutobi that she still remained in the village as their head medic-nin, although she's not very happy with it.

And _lastly_, the main point of his problems was the legendary oni village, Shinrakuen, the problem that most probably all shinobi villages are currently facing.

Apparently, there were many rumours going around about that village 'taking in' the Jinchuurikis as well as giving quite a number of missing-nins and criminals shelter. Currently, the only Jinchuuriki that the people of the elemental nations still knew of that still remained with the shinobi nations is only the Eighth Tailed Jinchuuriki whose brother is the Raikage. Even the two tailed Jinchuuriki which they previously used to have, had mysteriously disappeared about six years ago, though if the rumour is to be believed, the Raikage had allowed the two-tailed Jinchuuriki to leave on her own accord six years ago with the leader of Tsuki.

And many civilian nations like Haru that used to be known as Yuki, Nami and Tori who were three of the few nations that were on rather good terms with Tsuki, have recently begun trading and exporting businesses with Tsuki. And the shinobi nations had probably must have done something to piss them off, as Haru, Nami and Tori automatically raise the costs of goods heading straight for Konoha, Suna, Iwa and Kiri, but giving Tsuki and Kumo discounts, along with a few of the other minor nations.

As a result, many of the civilian towns have been going to Kumo for their business. Those who wanted requests done by Tsuki usually had Kumo act as their middleman, as they were still far too afraid to venture into Tsuki directly.

And it was precisely because of that village that brought Minato to that day's troublesome assignment.

In an attempt to at least try to improve the many financial problems that nearly all the five great nations but Kumo have been suffering from, they have decided to try to invite Tsuki to the chuunin exams that would be held in Konoha that year. Actually, Tsuki does not exactly have an official ninja village, but the oni village is well known to house many fine warriors, and a huge amount of their human population are actually high-levelled missing-nins. As such, they are an official ninja village in the eyes of the five great nations.

It had taken Minato over a month negotiating with the leader of Tsuki directly via messenger birds to allow him to send a team into Tsuki to explain about the aspects of the chuunin exams. He had actually had to go through the Raikage first before the Raikage had came back a while later with an answer, saying that the leader of Tsuki is willing to communicate with him directly, and that was how they have been exchanging letters back and forth ever since.

Minato had heard many rumours of how stubborn and adamant that the oni leader of Tsuki could be, and he only now he knew that those rumours clearly speak the truth. It took him at least an entire month before Kazama Chikage finally yielded and agreed to allow two genin teams from Konoha to enter Tsuki, with the jounins explaining the aspects of the chuunin exams to him, and they are also to stay there for a week, after which the jounins would then take the reply from Kazama back to Minato.

Thus, two of the three rookie genin teams of that year that were currently led by Sarutobi Asuma and Yuuhi Kurenai are both being sent to Shinrakuen no sato where a member of Shinrakuen would be waiting for them at the borders between Tsuki and Kumo to escort them into the village itself.

Minato had actually even seen the two genin teams off himself at the gates, with all of them nervous, but determined to do their best for this mission. Inuzuka Tsume had actually laid down a list of what to do and what to _not _do to her son for this specific mission when she had heard about it.

Minato secretly had another reason for wanting to invite Tsuki to the chuunin exams. The rumours of how nearly all the Jinchuurikis in the shinobi nations were brought to Tsuki had also reached his ears, and so did the rumour of how they are Jinchuurikis no longer, but pure blooded onis. When the Konoha council had heard about this, they have kicked up such a huge fuss that it took Minato releasing his killer intent to shut all of their mouths.

Then again, the council, notably the civilian side had never really liked Tsuki much anyway, especially since they have almost sent five of their shinobis back in body bags when the decision to ask Tsuki for their assistance during the last war was made.

But everyone in the elemental nations has learnt their lesson since: do _not _ask Tsuki for their help with a human war.

Minato had wanted Tsuki to be present for the chuunin exams because he had thought that his daughter might be there. It is a funny thing. He had detested and accused his own daughter for seven years for his wife's death. But after she had vanished, he had started slowly missing her, and started thinking of her more as his daughter instead of the Kyuubi vessel.

"Naruto…" Minato mused as he stared into the distance from where he stood at Konoha's gates after seeing Asuma and Kurenai's teams off. "I wonder how she is now...? If she really is in Tsuki...does she hate me?"

"If she does, then that would be your own fault, sensei," said a voice, and Minato turned, only to see Kakashi standing behind him, a certain orange book in his hand as usual, but he isn't reading it, but was instead looking at Minato with a look of disdain. "You were the one who had all but abandoned her."

Minato managed a small smile at his student, but Kakashi didn't returned it. "Hello Kakashi. Where's your genin team?"

"I gave them the day off since we just returned from a pretty hard mission at Wave." Kakashi answered. "I'm going to start on their training for the chuunin exams tomorrow."

"I guess it means you're entering your team for the chuunin exams? Isn't it prehaps a little too early for them?"

"I have absolute confidence in them." Kakashi stated. "Sai and Sasuke are more than ready for it, ability and psychologically wise. But Sakura isn't. Still, prehaps by entering her in the exams, is the only way to wake her up to reality, since she is utterly useless in the last mission. Sai has to save her from being swish kebab too many times to count. Thankfully, Sai and Sasuke are good friends, and worked well together, otherwise, my entire team and the client would have really been marked as KIA."

Minato winced at that. Sai was actually a former member of Danzo's old Roots organisation. But Kakashi had somehow actually managed to negotiate with Danzo to let him have Sai five years ago, straight after Naruto's disappearance. Minato doesn't know what Kakashi had said to Danzo, but the old War Hawk had agreed, and privately, Minato thinks that Kakashi might have done that because Sai's situation reminded him of Naruto's own.

Kakashi had later on adopted Sai as his younger brother, and Minato thinks that it is good for the man as well, as Sai had actually taught Kakashi to learn to live again when the Copy-nin had to re-teach Sai the necessities of human living as well as emotions, undoing all the work that Danzo had done to Sai. Fortunately, Sai had only been in the Roots program for a month, and thus, it wasn't too difficult to break Sai out of that vile program.

Kakashi snorted. "Anyway, that's what happened," he stated, turning around. "Now if you'll kindly excuse me, I have a book that I need to read."

"Kakashi. Have you hear anything about Rin lately?"

Kakashi stiffened slightly before he relaxed. "No." He stated curtly before shunshining away, and Minato narrowed his eyes.

He can tell that Kakashi is definitely hidng something...

**XXXXXX**

_Zeilt Headquarters  
Tsukigakure no sato_

Zeilt, also known as Squad Zero, is the elite and main fighting force of Shinrakuen that mostly comprises of onis, although there are a rare few who are humans within that squad. A silver ring that they wore on their fingers marked their status, as well as the fact that every Zeilt members worked in pairs easily identifies all Zeilt members.

Many of the former Jinchuurikis are actually Zeilt members, and all Zeilt members protected the village, are well respected in all of Rakuen. The two leaders of Zeilt are actually quite well known in the village as well, along with their partners. One is Saitou Rihan, the son of Saitou Hajime, one of Kazama's most trusted fighters. And the other who also happens to be Saitou Rihan's friend, is Kazama and Chizuru's daughter in everything but blood, since the couple never had any children as they couldn't find the time to have one.

Zeilt's headquarters is located near the far end of the village, and the area that leads to the headquarters is pretty well protected for safety reasons. The Zeilt to Tsuki is what the ANBU are like to the shinobi nations. Thus, they pretty much knew all of Tsuki's secrets.

The headquarters of Zeilt is built pretty much like that of a mansion, though it looks fairly intimidating, as it gives the impression of a haunted house. Especially with the steel black gate, vines, ivy and creepers growing all over the mansion, and the fact that the garden and grounds of the headquarters had all sorts of plant life overrunning the entire place.

There were a few other small buildings other than from the main headquarters of Zeilt located in the grounds, mainly used for training purposes, sparring purposes or even interrogation purposes. And there are even one of those buildings that is actually used as a small shrine. Each building in Zeilt's grounds are named as 'rings' to prevent confusion among the Zeilt members, and unlike most of the buildings in Rakuen, the buildings as well as the headquarters of Zeilt are made out of pure white stone.

Currently, in the shrine of Zeilt, also more well known as the ninth ring is where one could find Saitou Rihan speaking with a certain redheaded female.

"I heard about something from Gaara and Yuuki," said Saitou Rihan calmly.

He was fairly handsome in a manner of speaking, despite only being thirteen. He looks almost like a exact copy of his father, with the same shade of violet hair, only with crimson eyes that had a slight tint of violet to it, and his hair was styled in a manner similar to his father's. He was also wearing a dark T-shirt beneath a black jacket that was left opened, with black pants and ninja sandals. A nodachi was also visible on his back, hanging from a dark blue sash slung across his chest, and a silver ring was visible on the smallest finger of his left hand.

Rihan studied his companion closely before letting out a small sigh. "They told me that some Konoha ninjas would be coming today. They don't seem happy about it, and neither did any of the others. Miyako and Kiyoshi have gone to escort them from the borders." His companion still didn't say anothing nothing, but kept on polishing her katana. "Does it bother you? The fact that they came?"

"If I said that it doesn't, I would clearly be lying." She finally said at last, sheathing her sword with a soft click.

His companion was dressed in a black jacket over a white shirt, with black pants and dark blue ninja sandals. She had mid-back red hair that reaches a few inches above her waist and her violet eyes seemed like that of the colour of the gemstone amethyst. Like Rihan, she also wore a silver ring on her finger, but hers was worn on the ring finger of her right hand.

Rihan smirked and replied. "I guess so. Dad told me about it. He told me that you were originally from Konoha. Back when you were known as Namikaze Naruto instead of Yukimura Aiko..."

Aiko sighed, glancing at her best as well as her childhood friend. "Konoha…" she muttered in loathing. "I never want to hear the name of _that _village again. I know that I surely have to face them sooner or later, but I never expected this soon."

"Do you really hate them?" Rihan questioned.

"I... don't know." Aiko admitted, hesitating slightly. "I might be angry at my …biological father, but I'm not exactly sure if I hate him or any other people from Konoha. I'll probably find out the answer when I see them myself." Rihan didn't say anything as he watched Aiko moved across the room, towards the altar. "You know, a long time ago, when I was a child, I used to believe in God." Aiko stared at the statue of the deity in front of her – a statue of the dragon god Seiryū, with an unreadable expression. "I believe in Him and His will as well as the justice of the world, and fought and defended for Him and what I believe in. But I was sadly mistaken." Yuuki clenched her hands into fists in the pockets of her jacket. "There isn't a God... And neither is there any Justice existing in this world." Aiko stopped for a moment, looking at her companion's expression before continuing . "I believe in God and Justice and fought for them both only to realise that they clearly don't exist in this world. That God don't exist. In the end, I slowly stopped believing. And then…" Aiko's expression softened slightly. "I met Kazama-san."

**XXXXX**

In the meantime, Shimizu Miyako and Ishigawa Kiyoshi have brought the two genin teams into the village. While it was quite hard to ignore the hostile glares from the people of the village, the beauty of the village was enough to let them ignore them for at least some time.

"Wow!" Hyuuga Hinata gasped softly, eyes wide with amazement from the sight. " This is Shinrakuen? It is so beautiful!" She said, marvelling at the sight of the village.

"Right now, me and Kurenai have some business to discuss with Kazama-sama, so we will leave you guys to do what you want now. And _please_ stay out of trouble," sighed Asuma. "Now, Miyako-san, if you could?"

Miyako nodded politely before leading them to towards the Tower in the middle of the village, and the genins didn't fail to notice the hostile looks that the villagers were giving them.

The genins exchanged looks among themselves as they remembered what they have been told. Before they left for Tsuki, they have been warned by the Hokage himself that the inhabitants of Tsuki doesn't take kindly to outsiders, _especially_ humans. The onlly humans they were fine with were those that lived in Tsuki as well. Even the Raikage himself admitted that the inhabitants of Tsuki aren't very fond of his people as well.

"Hey, Kiyoshi-san is it?" Shikamaru asked hesitatingly, which caused Kiyoshi to nod and raise a brow in question. "You have a person named Namikaze Naruto here...right?" Kiyoshi tensed up dangerously and the rest of the group of genins recognised that name immediately. "Can we please speak to her for a little while? She used to be one of my best friends. I need to see her for a while. Just to see if she's doing well."

"We do not have anybody that goes by the name Namikaze Naruto here in Rakuen" Kiyoshi replied stiffly.

"Just for a moment! Please, we know of your tradition to take on a new name here, Kiyoshi-san!" Hinata cut in, causing Kiyoshi to narrow his eyes. "She changed her name, right? Please." Hinata bowed slightly to Kiyoshi. "Naruto…she grew up with me, Shikamaru-kun, Shino-kun and Kiba-kun." She gestured towards herself and her friends. "We...we just need to see that she's well. She disappeared very suddenly five years ago, and we have been very worried for her ever since."

Kiyoshi closed his eyes for moment before opening them. "Even so, the person whom you are referring to, now goes by a different name. She is also Kazama-sama's daughter everything but blood, as well as one of the two leader of Zeilts. She isn't just someone you can just see-"

"Just for a few minutes!" Kiba cut in, joining the conversation as well.

Kiyoshi narrowed his eyes. "Listen! Look, you people from Konoha have no right to just walk in and demand-"

"Kiyoshi." A calm voice interrupted them just then, and Kiyoshi turned around to see a black-haired girl with beautiful blue eyes walking towards them, a cold expression on her face.

Kiyoshi nodded politely towards the newcomer. "Yuuki," he greeted. "Gaara-san isn't with you?"

"No, he isn't." Yuuki replied. She then turned to look at the Konoha genins with a look of contempt in her eyes. "Come, I will take you to Aiko."

Kiyoshi widened his eyes and frowned. "Are you sure that's wise?" He asked. "Kazama specifically said that-"

"Aiko and Rihan are the ones that said that it was alright," said Yuuki, and Kiyoshi raised a brow in confusion. "Besides, I'll be right there with them." Kiyoshi frowned, clearly unsure but he nodded at last, and the black haired girl then turn her icy gaze at the Konoha genins. "Aiko might want to see you humans, but make just one little wrong move, and I'll kill you exactly where you stand." She hissed, causing the Konoha genins to look rather nervous. "She might want to see you, but make no mistake, you are clearly _not_ welcomed here." Yuuki stated bluntly. "Now move."

* * *

_A/N: So? What do you think? Like it? Hate it? Sorry if it still seems too similar, but like I said, it will be different after the first few chapters._

_Anyway, I want to thank all of the people that reviewed the first chapters!_

_Mistress Persephone- Hahaha! Thanks for reviewing my story. Anyway, updated! :)_

_kitfoxgirl- Thank you for the review! I appreciate it and I will try my best!_

_Patriot-112- __You really think it's different? That's good! Thank you and I hope you will like it!_

_TheBlackSeaReaper- Thanks for the review! Much appreciated! _

_xbamsod- __Luckily it manage to catch you attention! Thanks for the review!_

___Guest-____ I did said that she will forgive them but she still might dislike them. I mean seriously, if someone did that to me, I will be angry too. So, she's not really fond of them much._

___Fantasy Fantasia-____ Ohayo Fantasy-san! Thanks for the review, as for Minato, he might get a bit of character bashing at the beginning but not so much. And yes, it's a GaaFem!Naru fic! :D_

_BloodyMarryMe-__ Hellouz to you too! Thankfully you liked the intro! Hope you stay tune for the other chapters too! :)_

_weirn018- __Why thank you!_

_Ngbeken Lovette- __Hope you continue loving the other chapters as well!_

_whiteicewolf-__ THAT, my dear friend, is what we call a spoiler! I don't wanna tell you this but fine! Haku and Kimimaro might survive. And, I won't write how did Gaara and Aiko met but I might write a short oneshot about their meeting in the future. :P_

_polak0113-__ Continued~ I had the power to update it! XD_

_near4EVER-__Thanks! GaaFem!Naru fics are my favourite pairings too!_

_Snipa- __I would like you to continue reading it too! :)_

_Janelly Slytherin- __Thanks! You are amazing too! _

_Heftig Einzelganger-__ I updated. Thanks! XD_

_Thank you everybody for the positive comments! I also want to thank everybody who favourited/followed this story too! Oh, and before I forget, I need a few OCs, both male and female, so if you would like, PM me about it please! I also welcome any suggestions given about the story._

_I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and please read and review!_


	3. Zeilt

_**Warnings: **AU. OC characters. Character bashing. Konoha bashing. Mild dark fic._

_**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto and any of the characters, but some of the OCs belongs to me. The beginning of the plot and the characters Kirigakure Yuuki and Saitou Rihan belongs to Starian NightZz though. And a few of the other OCs belongs to my friends._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 3- Zeilt

Although he tried to hide it, Nara Shikamaru grew more and more uneasy as he followed that black haired girl - Yuuki, to the Headquarters of the Zeilt. Looking at the rest of the genins, he could tell that they felt the same as him. Even Kiba was being unusually quiet since they've went to Shinrakuen. Sure, Shikamaru wanted to see his old friend as much as the others, but his instincts were screaming at him to get away from this place,now.

The rest of the genins were also lost in their thoughts until Yuuki stopped walking abruptly, which resulted in them almost tripping each other. Looking up, he saw that they have stoppped in front of an rather intimidating mansion-like place, and Shikamaru was now feeling even more uneasy than before.

Even the ANBU headquarters in Konoha didn't look as intimidating as the _mansion_ they were currently looking at. The mansion however, looked more like a fortress with all the small buildings that were surrounding the grounds. At this, Shikamaru was now sure that this must be Zeilt's headquarters - the elite fighting force of Shinrakuen.

A rather handsome redheaded boy that looked around their age with pale seafoam coloured eyes, and a tattoo of the kanji for 'Love' on his forehead was standing at the entrance with a visible look of disgust and scorn on his face as he looked at the Leaf-nins with his arms crossed over of his chest. He was dressed in a simple black shirt with silver linings and black pants, with a pair of ninja sandals. He was also wearing a pair of fingerless black gloves and a white sash around his waist. Also, he was wearing a silver ring on on the index finger of his left hand.

"Yuuki." Gaara greeted coldly which caused Yuuki to nod and raise her hand in greeting as well, which caused Shikamaru to spot a silver ring resting on the index finger of her right hand, and figure out that she is also a member of Zeilt.

Gaara looked behind Yuuki to glance at the Leaf-nins before narrowing his eyes dangerously before looking back to Yuuki. "Is it them?" He asked and Yuuki nodded.

He then glanced over at them once again before releasing his killer intent, causing all the Leaf-nins to start shaking. Even Akamaru was shaking like a leaf before letting out a whine atop Kiba's head, which scared him even more as he could feel that Gaara is _very _dangerous, though he tried to keep a brave front, which failed. After all, Yuuki and Gaara are counted as among the most dangerous in the Zeilts and they are the partners to the two leaders of the Zeilts with Gaara being Aiko's partner and Yuuki being Rihan's.

"We have been expecting you for a while." Gaara stated before letting up his killer intent and oni aura, much to the genins' relief. "Aiko asked me and Yuuki to get you people. The only reason why you people are alive right now instead of being dead on the streets is because Aiko wanted to see you. _Alive. Not dead. _But make no mistake, _humans._" Gaara spat out the word 'humans' like it was something disgusting and a undereadable look flashed in his seemingly emotionless eyes for a second. "You are clearly not welcome here." Although Yuuki didn't say anything, she clearly agreed with him from the expression on her face.

His eyes flashed again before he snorted and turned from the genins, facing the pure black coloured gates. Silvery-yellow chakra was coated on his hands before he took a closer step towards the gates, causing the chakra to envelop the gates, and the gates slowly swung open with a slight creak. Gaara looked over his shoulder at Yuuki. "I trust that you will tell them the rules we have for visitors. I'll go on ahead. They are in the ninth ring. Head on over there once you are ready."

Yuuki nodded. "I will."

Gaara then turned and walked into the grounds towards the largest building that was there and disappearing into it. Yuuki then sighed and turned to face the genins with a look that clearly said that she didn't want to even speak to them. "Alright, before we go in, I suppose I need to tell you the rules we have here that you have to abide whilst _you people_ are in there." Yuuki looked like she wanted to say something other than 'you people' but she stopped before continuing seriously. "And you'll _have_ to remember them. I won't be responsible for any harm that happens to you if the others deem you as a threat." At this, Yuuki looked like she wished it would actually happen before continuing. "Here in Rakuen, we don't hesitate to attack first and ask questions later. We onis all look after our own." The genins nodded. "Miyako or Kiyoshi should have told you this before you came in here, as these rules also apply to all other visitors that comes to our village, but it is more reinforced here in Zeilt headquarters. But knowing those two, they probably didn't say anything about it."

Yuuki muttered something in an exasperated manner under her breath before glaring at the group of genins. "First, once you have entered headquarters or the village, you _have _to abide by our ways. All members of Rakuen are rather blunt in their words and mannerisms and they probably don't care about how you visitors will feel, if your experiences with Kiyoshi and Gaara still haven't told you that. Most of us here are able to have the luck to come across as looking like a human. However, there are also a few of us who have strange coloured eyes or hair or even some demonic-looking traits. Do not stare at them at all."

The Leaf genins looked at each other nervously before nodding.

"Second, there are quite a few people here that are well known missing-nins in our ranks. Some of them even served in Zeilt. No matter who they might be, even if they are from your village or if you have a personal grudge against them, _you must not attack them. _Sure, Rakuen looks after every one of their own, but the relationship of the people of Zeilt, are alike to being family. We take it to a totally different level if someone actually attacks us. So unless you people would like to return to your village in body bags, do not display any aggresive behavior."

Once again, all of them nodded, though Shikamaru was the only one that noted the 'we' in Yuuki's sentence.

"Third of all, it is probably best for you people to stick together when you are walking around Rakuen," said Yuuki. "I understand that you want to see Aiko but like I said, we are protective over our own, despite the fact that she outclasses us all. Thus, you better not say or do anything that will end up with her turning against all of you."

The Leaf genins exchanged quick looks before nodding again, and Yuuki glared at them.

"Personally, I'm particularly fond of you humans, and I don't know why Aiko would want to see you after all that you've done to her." Yuuki hissed in a hostile manner before continuing. "Seriously, you idiots from the Leaf are considered lucky after Aiko managed to get Kazama-sama not to destroy you entire village after he learned of what you villagers did to her when she was younger." Yuuki shook her head and sighed. "That girl is too nice to people sometimes." Shikamaru managed a small smile at that and looked at Hinata, Kiba and Shino who felt the same as him, though the latter didn't show it. Naruto or 'Aiko' haven't changed much. If she was still the same- "But make no mistake. Don't underestimate her." Shikamaru was jerked out of his thoughts by Yuuki who seemed to have read his thoughts. "She can be too soft at times, but she isn't out leader for nothing. At times, she can be perhaps the most ruthless out of all of us."

Yuuki inclined her head slightly to the right. "Now, follow me."

The Leaf-nins immediately obeyed her command without any question, as they knew that Yuuki is probably not very fond of them and what's to keep her from killing them? Even Ino, who usually argued over every little thing, was unusually meek for some reason. Then again, seeing the inhabitants of Rakuen's aggressiveness is most likely more than enough to silence her.

As they walked through the grounds, nothing was heard except for their footsteps rustling in the grass and the soft chirping of birds in the air. Shikamaru's sharp eyes spotted a few unrecognisable symbols around the place thats seems to be security seals. From what he heard, oni-made seals and barriers were far stronger and more powerful than those that were made by humans.

To his suprise, Ino's hand darted out and grabbed his arm with a visible look of fear as her eyes flickered here and there. Shikamaru glanced at what Ino was looking at, only to see shadows filtering here and there. What are those things?

"The first line of defense in Zeilt headquarters. Those are Shadows." Yuuki answered the unasked question as if she read their mind. "Don't worry, they won't hurt you unless you do something out of line." Yuuki assured as she glanced slightly over her shadow with her beautiful blue eyes, though there were amusement that could be seen in them.

Just then, something in the nearby weeping sakura tree caught Shikamaru's attention and he turned to see a girl that looked around their age with caramel brown hair and soft emerald eyes lounging around the tree in a cat-like manner. She wore a simple black shirt over a white long-sleeved shirt with black pants and ninja sandals. There was also a wakizashi hanging from a sash around her waist.

She was quite beautiful, without a doubt, just like most of the females that Shikamaru had seen so far in Rakuen, despite the cold expression on her face. That expression though, had been seen on all the faces that he have seen in this village-even Miyako and Kiyoshi, who were quite polite to them, was also seen with that expression.

Yuuki looked up at the tree and nodded to the girl, which made her received the same greeting in return. "Amaya."

"They are in the ninth ring." The girl answered looking uninterested. Yuuki nodded and Amaya stood up on the branch she was sitting on with her lips twisted into a sneer at the Leaf genins. "I don't like them." She hissed, and the look on Yuuki's face told that she agreed, and the looks on the genins' faces told them that the feeling was entirely mutual. "Listen here, _humans. _Aiko might want to see you guys but I don't and I'm pretty sure the rest of us feels the same way as I do. So if you so much harm one hair on her head -" Amaya narrowed her eyes angrily as her hand moved towards her wakizashi, and the graveyard that can barely be seen through the mist seems to look clearer then. "-I will make you people suffer to the point of making you beg for death."

"Amaya." Yuuki warned.

Amaya sighed before saying. "I know." She said as she turned on her heel. "Don't take too long." She warned, looking over her shoulder at them before disappearing suddenly.

"Of course." Yuuki said.

The black haired girl then look at the Leaf genins over her shoulder with a visible look of contempt. "Almost all the Zeilt will be exactly like her so considered yourselves warned." Shikamaru nodded. The girl then continued walking, causing the genins to hastily walk after her. Yuuki then led the way to a the largest building on the grounds made from pure white stone with vines and ivy growing over some parts of it. A pair of ebony black doors was the entrance to the building, and Yuuki looked over her shoulder. "We are here. This is the ninth ring. Most of the Zeilts are usually here."

The Leaf-nins looked at the doors with mixed feelings as Yuuki gently put her hand on the door, with golden-red chakra enveloping her hand before the doors swung open with a slight creak.

As soon as they stepped into the room, the doors immediately slammed shut behind them, giving them a light start. The Leaf-nins quickly got over it, as they looked at the view before them with awe.

The interior of the ninth ring looked a bit like a scene from a rundown church as there are several other people that were lounging on the broken concrete blocks or crates uncaringly. There were even some that were sitting in the hollowed cracks of the wall and even on the wiondow itself. Shikamaru mentally calculated how many people there were and came out with the conclusion of having at least sixteen people. He almost gawked when he saw Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, both who are counted as among the most dangerous people in the Bingo Book.

He continued glancing around the room and found his old friend sitting on one of the broken concrete blocks that were encarved with ancient runic writings. A purple haired boy was standing next to her with an impassive look.

"I've brought them here." Yuuki said. Aiko nodded politely and Yuuki disappeared like a wisp of smoke appearing next the redheaded boy they've met earlier who is sitting in one of the hollowed out cracks of the wall.

Shikamaru glanced around curiously only to be suprised by the fact that most of them looks familiar to him, as they were the previous Jinchuurikis that have left their original village before becoming onis in Shinrakuen. The only people that he didn't recognise is the purple haired boy next to his old friend, the one next to the Amaya girl and the two that are sitting on the window ledge near Aiko and the purple haired boy.

There was a long and awkward silence between the two groups as they stared at each other silently for a few minutes. The Leaf-nins were the first one to break the tense atmosphere. _'This is getting far too ridiculous.' _Shikamaru thought as he took a step forward, hesitating when all the Zeilt tensed up. "H-Hey Naru-"

"Aiko." The girl interrupted, causing Shikamaru to raise an eyebrow questioningly. "My name is now Yukimura Aiko. Namikaze Naruto died the very night the villagers took it too far." Shikamaru swallowed nervously as he realised that the girl was getting angry by her tone. "She died the moment her father abandoned her. Besides, which idiot would name a girl 'swirly fishcake' anyway?"

Shikamaru almost sweat dropped when she said that, just as his brash blond teammate spoke up, trying to act tough. "How dare you talk like that to Yondaime-" She took a step toward Aiko, only to stop when two unidentified Zeilt members pressing two strange curved blades at Ino's throat.

"Take another step closer to Aiko and it'll be your head." One of them growled warningly.

Aiko sighed softly. "You two, stand down." She instructed before glancing around her. "All of you too, please. I'll be fine."

Almost all of them had frowns on their face, but they nodded, and they were gone like a wisp of smoke. Aiko leaped gracefully, landing neatly on the ground and the boy next to her did the same.

"It's been quite a while, guys." Aiko greeted blankly. "This is Saitou Rihan. He's my friend and the other leader of Zeilt." The purple haired boy next to them nodded in greeting. Aiko then stared at Shino and Shikamaru, seemingly reading their questioning expression. "I needed to send them away. Or else, all of you will be literally walking out in body bags. Rihan isn't as aggressive as the rest of them. Though I don't blame the rest of them as we hate humans, especially those from _Konoha." _She spat out the word Konoha like it was something foul.

Hinata let out a light gasp and stared at her former best friend as if she was another person. "W-What have happened to you?" She managed out at last looking devastated. "The Naruto I used to know isn't like this!" She took a deep breath sharply. "She isn't filled with hatred and malice. She used to be filled with hope and joy and-"

"Emphasis on _used_. You know what really happened? I stopped believing." Aiko spat out. "I stopped believing the village, the people, in their goodness, in God. I stopped believing in everything. Most of all, I stopped believing in _Namikaze Minato_." She hissed spitefully, causing Hinata to flinch. "When you came here, you probably thought I will still be the same, willing to follow you back together. But you should have realised, I'm no longer the same person you once knew. People change, at least that's what I did. I had enough of taking orders from people and decided to take charge of my life. Humans are always so pathetic. Always acting on their own fears... Treating anything remotely demonic with hatred." She looked at them before continuing softly. "This hatred, gave birth to Shinarakuen... A safe sanctuary of the outcasts. Humans are so easily corrupted by fear. It's actually kind of sad."

Akamaru whined out sadly. "You have changed..." Kiba whispered out at last.

"I did. And I moved on. You all should do the same. Namikaze Naruto no longer exist. I will never acknowledge that man as my father. Kazama Chikage is my father now."

**XXXXX**

_Village head's office_

_Shinrakuen_

"Alright." A rather irritated Kazama Chikage said, with his wife currently with him, while facing the two nervous Konoha jounins. " I am absolutely sick and tired of dealing with all the complaints that you have been filing to my office for the past two years. I will definitely attend the chunin exams and put an end to these nonsense. Those that I will be sending, will know the limits of what they can and can't do, so you can be assured of that. And I certainly trust their word a lot more than I trust yours. And make no mistake, an oni always keeps their word."

Kurenai and Asuma exchanged apprehensive looks. "The exams will commence in a month's time, Kazama-sama." Kurenai managed at last. "And exactly how many teams will you send? Each team will consist of three members taking the exams."

Kazama glanced at Amagiri Kyuju and Saitou Hajime who were both in his office. He then looked at the two jounins before sneering. "I can't send too many or else those village fools will accuse us of trying to kill their precious clan heirs. Two teams." He put up two fingers into the air. "There will be altogether six of them. Some of them will probably be from the Zeilts, so kindly give your Hokage a warning. Also, I will only be coming during the one month break to deal with the other matter.

Asuma nodded agreeing. "Very well. And Kazama-sama, the Hokage also sent me here for another matter as well." Kazama raised an eyebrow. "It's about...his daughter." Kazama's eyes narrowed threateningly. "We know that she's here. Can we please see her?"

"I'm afraid that Aiko won't see you." This time, it was Saitou Hajime that has spoken. "From what I have heard from my son, she isn't exactly fond of Konoha in the first place. Futhermore, ever since she heard you people will be coming here, she had been in a bad mood for days. And the Zeilts are in a shitty mood tonight, and no sane person would even want to mess with them."

"And Aiko isn't your Hokage's daughter anymore!" Kazama nee Yukimura Chizuru spoke up in agreement. "She is _mine_. Mine and Chikage's daughter. Her name isn't Namikaze Naruto, but Yukimura Aiko, a member of Shinrakuen!"

* * *

_A/N: So? What did you think? Sorry if it's a bit late but I just started school last month and there's a lot of work. :( But I updated early because it was my friend's b'day yesterday! :D And again, it will be different after the first few chapters. Anyway, if there's any mistakes, please tell me!_

_Anyway for those who reviewed the second chapter, thanks!_

_Fantasy Fantasia -__ Good day Fantasy-san! Thanks for the review. I like Minato too but he's different in this story so sorry. GaaNaru will start soon!_

_Ngbeken Lovette -__ Continue loving it forever please!_

_Snipa -__Thanks for the compliment! And if there's any mistake, don't hesitate to tell me!_

_Soutrick -__ Why thank you! And you will find out soon. Hopefully it will evolve into something you like..._

_AkumasFate -__ Well, I guess you will find out soon!_

_xbamsod -__ The meeting will be seen soon. Tune in!_

_polak0113 -__BOOOM~ POWER OVERLOAD! Hahaha! Anyway, thanks for the 'power' :)_

_kits-hold-their-tears -__ Hope you will continue loving in it the future too!_

_varubatoze -__Thanks. Anyway, stop telling everyone about 'THAT'. You know it's not true! I swear if you say it one more time, I will put that thing back into your locker!_

_ShadowCub -__ She probably won't forgive them. I hope you will like her character then._

_BloodyMarryMe -__ And so I finally updated! Right after you too! :P You will find out about the chunin exams in the next few chapters so stay tune!_

_Thanks for everyone who took the time to review and favourite this story and I wish you luck for yours too! And like I said in the last chapters, I still need a few OCs, both male and female so if anyone want to put their OC here, please PM me._

_Hope you guys like it and read and review!_


	4. Home Sweet Home

_**Warnings: **AU. OC characters. Character bashing. Konoha bashing. Mild dark fic._

_**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto and any of the characters, but some of the OCs belongs to me. The beginning of the plot and the characters Kirigakure Yuuki and Saitou Rihan belongs to Starian NightZz though. And a few of the other OCs belongs to my friends._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 4-Home Sweet Home

Anyone with half a brain can tell that Yukimura Aiko wasn't very happy when she heard about the chunin exams that she will be participating in from her father.

Currently, she is standing in the meadow at the back of the village where beautiful and sweet smelling flowers grew with none other than Saitou Rihan, Sabaku Gaara and Kirigakure Yuuki.

The four teens have went there in order to gather some medical herbs and to get away from their _visitors_ as they weren't exactly fond of them.

"This is so not fair!" the redheaded girl complained, causing her friends to look at her in amusement. They had already anticipated her reaction but it was always quite fun for them to see her outbursts as she can be rather childish when she gets angry. This time though, they couldn't blame her since they already knew of her bad history with that particular village.

They weren't very happy with that arrangement too. "I agree. Why must we go to Konoha?" Rihan whined slightly. "We hardly interact with humans anyway. So why must we go to a village where all the people there are well known for being narrowminded about demonic beings? Which is quite ironic as they practically worship bloodlines as kami-sama." Rihan snorted.

"Well, we don't exactly have a choice." Yuuki added into the conversation. "Personally, I don't like it but we have to go if we want the letters and complaints from the other villages to stop. Plus, if we ignore them, we'll probably have a war on our hands and that's the last thing we need."

"But you are from Konoha!" Gaara protested strongly to Aiko. "Are you sure that you want to go?"

"Well, I don't exactly have a choice, do I? I don't even know why dad agreed to include my name among the six people that will be leaving for the chunin exams, but I think it should be fine. Dad even told the Konoha jounins that we won't hesitate to 'attack first and ask questions later' if anyone tries to do anything. I think they won't do anything since they still remember what Rakuen did to their ninjas in the last war." Aiko sighed.

There was a long silence before it was broken. "Well?" Yuuki asked. "Who will be the six that will be taking the chunin exams?"

"About that, I am allowed to pick who will be accompanying me." Aiko said and the rest of them blinked in suprise. "All of the genins that are taking part in the exams will be taking part in teams of three each. So, those people doesn't necessary need to be in Zeilts but they must be capable to protect themselves. Though I'm sure everyone in the village fits the bill as all of us know some form of kido, even if they don't know kenjutsu or taijutsu."

"Also, I heard that Kazama-sama would like to know who will be going by tonight. And, dad and Amagiri will be the 'jounin escorts' for those six and that we will be leaving in two days from now, as the trip to Konoha will take three days and the exams will start in exactly one week." Rihan said to the others.

Aiko looked at her friends before sighing. "Alright, now that that's settled, you guys can help me pick who will be going."

Gaara immediately spoke up. "I'm not leaving you with that village filled with monsters!" he declared determinely. "I saw how you were like five years ago when Kazama-sama saved you from that village. I'm definetely going with you!"

"Me too," Rihan frowned. "I'm not sure about Yuuki, but we can't leave the Zeilts unattended when we're gone."

"I want to go too." Yuuki said. "I don't really want to go to a village full of _humans_ but I want to come with you guys." Yuuki grimaced before continuing. "Plus, Amaya can stay and help us to do our duties."

"I guess so," Aiko said slowly. "All right, you guys then. We still need two more. Oh, and I think it's best that we don't choose anymore from Zeilt. We don't need more trouble."

"What about Miyako?" Rihan asked. "Shimizu Miyako. You and Yuuki are friends with her, aren't you?"

"Miyako? She's already going." Aiko answered causing her friends to look slightly confused. "Didn't I tell you that she will be going to Konoha during the one month break as a guard?"

"Then how about Shana?" Gaara suggested, and his three friends looked at him. "If I remember, Aiko, you were friends with her too."

"Shana? Do you mean Inao Shana? Isn't that the girl with healing powers?" Yuuki questioned thoughtfully. "That's a good idea. I heard that she can heal people easily just by touching them and she's pretty good at strategies too."

"Yeah. She was originally supposed to be a member of the Zeilts but she turned it down for personal reasons." Aiko explained. "Having a medic is a good idea. I don't trust any of the Konoha medics near us with a ten foot pole." She muttered, causing her friends to exchanged amused looks.

"Alright, who will be the last in the other group?" asked Gaara, turning to Aiko. "We already have a medic strategist and a illusionist on the other team. How about one who purely specialises in combat this time?"

"_Everyone _in the village fits the bill, Gaara." Rihan said.

"Gaara meant an all-rounder, Rihan." Aiko sighed, looking a bit irrtated. "One who is skilled at all aspects of combat."

"Oh." Rihan muttered sheepishly, clearly embarrassed before smirking. "And how exactly did you know what Gaara meant? Hmm?"

Yuuki tried to hide a laugh, avoiding looking at the two redheads.

Gaara and Aiko glared at them while blushing. They absoloutely did _not _need another round of teasing that they should get together!

"Oh yeah? How about you and Yuuki? You guys seem pretty close!" Aiko hissed at her fellow leader, causing Rihan to blush.

"Well yeah-" Rihan started.

"How about Ishigawa Kiyoshi?" Yuuki thankfully interrupted before they started arguing, though she was blushing as well. "He's an all-rounder in combat, he's not from the Zeilts and it helps that he's also a sensor."

"All right, it seems that all six members have been decided." Gaara said, turning to look at Aiko. "Are you sure it will be all right? You were originally from Konoha after all."

Aiko kept quiet and didn't say anything. Gaara reached out to touch her hand comfortingly. Aiko let out a soft smile before saying. "I'll be fine. I will have to face them sooner or later. Better to get it over quickly and done with. Running away won't solve any of my problems. Plus, I do want to see some people." Aiko sighed. "Prehaps I was too harsh towards Hinata and the others yesterday. I was feeling too frustrated then. Especially when they kept on going and going on about the Hokage and the village. They kept on thinking that I will forgive the village for what they have done and go back with them. I want to see my mother's grave anyway..."

**XXXXX**

_Five days later_

The group of onis can see the village of Konoha just over the distance, and all of them look worriedly at Aiko and Yuuki. The two girls had steadily got more and more bad-tempered as the closer they got to Konoha, none of them blamed the two of them for that. For Aiko, it was because of the bad history between her and the village and Yuuki had always hated most humans, no wonder they were in such a bad mood!

The non-Zeilts - Shana and Kiyoshi were shocked when Aiko nearly thrown a fit at Rihan when he asked her if Konoha is as bad as she had said. Later, Saitou had quietly told them that Aiko was originally from Konoha but she left due to an... _incident_.

As such, the both of them had put together the pieces themselves. Everyone in Rakuen had already known that Aiko was previously a Jinchuuriki - a living vessel for a bijuu before Kazama performed that ritual to turn her into a pure oni. And they already knew beforehand that humans generally don't treat their Jinchuurikis well.

Although the onis despise the humans' treatments towards their kind, the oni village made it a point to learn some of the humans' history so that they won't be put into an disadvantage due to their isolation from the world.

And so, everyone was very careful at what they say around Aiko, whose favourite target to blow up at is Gaara. To his credit, Gaara still remained as emotionless as always, despite that Aiko kept getting angry and taking out her anger on him.

It was quite a strange sight to the non-Zeilts, as Aiko was always so calm and cool and had very good patience, that it was very strange for them to see Aiko losing her cool more the closer they get to Konoha.

"I hope that Gaara and Rihan can keep her calm." Inao Shana muttered. Normally she would include Yuuki as well, but the other girl was also getting more bad-tempered as they got closer to Konoha.

Inao Shana had been one of Aiko's closer female friends, being an oni from one of the several oni clans in Rakuen. She is one of the only ones among her clan to have such a strong ability in healing. Unlike most of her clan, Shana's hair is a beautiful silvery-white colour, along with soft golden eyes.

"Well, it's just her nerves acting up for the trip. I think she should be fine when we arrive there...I hope..." Ishigawa Kiyoshi muttered to Shana.

Ishigawa Kiyoshi was probably one of the _only_ ones among the guards to be very happy about guard duty. He would even _happily volunteer_ for it. His best friend, Inao Shana had commented that he must be insane to enjoy guard duty. An excellent fighter, he tend to try and master all combat aspects. He, like Shana, was also originally meant to be in this generation of Zeilts, but both of them had turned down the offer for reasons unknown. He had black hair with natural white streaks in it and amber cat-like eyes.

Aiko sighed at glared coldly when she saw the all-too familiar road leading to Konoha and Rihan looked at her. "Are you doing all right, Aiko?"

"I guess so." Aiko muttered while looking at the ground.

"I hope so, since we are here," said Saitou with a sigh as the gates of Konohs greeted their view. Aiko sighed as she looked up at the gates.

_'Oh boy. Home sweet home.' _Aiko thought sarcastically.

* * *

_A/N: Well, this is a rather short chapter since the real action will start in the next chapter. I originally wanted to update earlier but I had school and stuff. My school had a Sports Carnival and I participated in some of the matches. My Sports House won second place! :) Anyway, I will try to update sooner but I can't guarantee anything. _

_For those who favourited or reviewed, thanks a lot!_

_Soutrick - Ah, sorry but Aiko plays a vital role in the exams. Anyway, thanks for the review!_

___kitfoxgirl-_ Thanks!

___xbamsod-_ Updated! Thanks for taking the time to review.

___Snipa-_ Yep! I changed the sentence already. Thanks for telling me about it.

_ShadowCub -_Uh yeah. You will see how she's like during the exams in the next chapter.

_Can'tAGirlGetSomeSleep __-__ *DokiDoki*_

_Reisi Munakata __-__ The one about me and 'that' guy! Stop telling your cousins!_

_ Amore2210. Loves. Fanfic __-__ Yep! There might be a moment or two soon..._

_DarkAngelOP __-__ Obsessed? Anyway, thanks._

_BloodyMarryMe-__ She's gonna be more badass in the later chapters. :) You will see...you will see..._

_Again thanks and read and review! Also, before I forget, Aiko and Gaara might have a date soon so PM me for an idea for their date and vote on the poll on my profile. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!_


End file.
